Snow on Palomar Mountain

Flower Fields open in Carlsbad

The annual opening day, March 1, at the Carlsbad Flower Fields was not as colorful as it has been in years past, but visitors who braved the inclement weather and were willing to walk to the extreme ends of the fields were rewarded with a hillside of petunias on one end and a robust field of ranunculi on the other end. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Students on Trial

About 450 San Diego County high school students participated in the annual San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition at the downtown courthouse, February 28, 2015 Photography by Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego

Silver Bay Kennel Show

Sunday was the final day of the annual Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The best of the best were singled out in a variety of breeds. Photography by Peggy Peattie/UT San Diego

Beagle brigade arrives

A team of their own

When 14-year-old Isaiah Granet started the youth hockey team San Diego Chill for developmentally disabled children, he just wanted the kids to have a team of their own. It started with two players and has grown to 25 with much of the community volunteering. Photography by Nelvin C. Cepeda

The Marvel Experience

Comic-book aficionados headed to The Marvel Experience at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, February 7, 2015. The experience, a 90-minute interactive show, which takes participants through various levels of training that involve climbing up walls, going through a laser maze and interacting with 3D superheroes and villains. Photography by Howard Lipin

Escondido's dancing stars

Vista High's Ag. Dept. honored

Vista High School was one of just two agricultural programs recognized for community service by the Future Farmers of America. Vista High was a recipient of the FFA: Food For All grant, and FFA recognized just two chapters for outstanding results from the grants.

Monk on bee-tending mission

Spanish Revival home in Cardiff

The original house was a modest 1,000-square-foot structure built in 1961 on a .18 acre lot in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. In 2005 a contractor/builder doubled the square footage, gutted much of the interior and transformed it into a Spanish Revival-style house. The owners have decorated the home with artifacts from their travels to Ireland, Chile, Peru, Tahiti, and Vietnam.

Sudsing up with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps made famous in the 1960s are still cleaning up with their ALL-ONE Love and Peace philosophy. They gave participants in the Spartan Race 2015 at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula showers of peppermint flavored foaming soap at the end of the race, January 17, 2015. Photography by Howard Lipin

Staging a home in Poway

Surf Air, one price all-you-can-fly airline

Surf Air, a private membership one price all-you-can-fly airline, is now flying out of Carlsbad's Palomar Airport. Members have access to unlimited flights to the airline's 8 locations in California, including Las Vegas.

Hole in One Challenge assists vets.

Wedding Ringer Stars at Miramar

The stars of the new movie, "The Wedding Ringer," Kevin Hart, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Josh Gad were on the hand at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, January 10, 2015, for a screening for Marines and their families. The movie opens in theaters January 16. Photography by Howard Lipin/U-T San Diego/ Twitter @hlipin

Rowe gets probation

Kathleen Rowe terrorized a married couple Jerry Rice and Janice Ruhter after they purchased a home that she wanted. Rowe placed an ad impersonating Ruhter soliciting sex and gave out Ruhter's address. Rowe was convicted of soliciting rape and was sentenced to five years probation.

ENCINITAS  Encinitas will try fencing the playground at Orpheus Park to keep free-ranging dogs out and scampering kids in. On Wednesday night, the City Council divided 3-2, with Mayor Kristin Gaspar and Councilman Mark Muir opposed, put in fencing as a one-year pilot project at the Leucadia park — one of three city parks where off-leash dogs are allowed at certain times. "To me, it's one of those no-brainers ... dogs shouldn't be in ...

San Diego  A 22-year-old man who had been behaving erratically took an SUV from a resident in Rancho Bernardo Wednesday night, and San Diego police later found it abandoned at a freeway interchange in Barrio Logan. Police were called about 7:20 p.m. to Aguamiel Road, near Azucar Way. Officers were told that a man who appeared “freaked out” was in the neighborhood and said he was being chased, police Officer Dino Delimitros said. The ...

OCEANSIDE  Oceanside City Manager Steve Jepsen stepped down under pressure Wednesday, roughly 16 months — and one pivotal election — after being hired back to lead the North County city where he had served in the same role years earlier. The news that Jepsen agreed to retire was announced shortly after the City Council ended a closed-session meeting where it was set to discuss his job performance evaluation and possible dismissal. Jepsen later released ...

SAN MARCOS  A suspected DUI driver died after a wrong-way collision on East Mission Road at Bougher Road in San Marcos early Wednesday, sheriff's officials said. The investigation had westbound lanes of Mission closed between Woodland Parkway and Bennett Avenue for several hours, a sheriff's official said. The two-vehicle crash occurred about 6:15 a.m. Witnesses told deputies that a westbound Nissan Frontier pickup crossed into eastbound lanes at high speed and hit a Chevrolet ...

DEL MAR  California Highway Patrol officers blocked lanes of northbound Interstate 5 south of Via de la Valle Wednesday morning as investigators gathered evidence in a suspected drunken driving crash that killed a motorist on Sunday. Officers halted traffic in the two right hand lanes as they took measurements starting around 10:45 a.m. The closures lasted more than an hour and caused a long backup on the freeway. CHP Officer Jake Sanchez said investigators ...

OCEANSIDE  A video contest spotlighting Oceanside is accepting entries through June 15 as part of the annual Oceanside Film festival. The “Oceanside Spotlight” competition accepts short films up to 5 minutes long about Oceanside, including documentaries, music video, narrative fictional stories and historical accounts. The contest is free and open to anyone. Voting begins shortly after the film is submitted, so the earlier it’s in, the sooner can start getting “likes.” The film with ...

CARLSBAD  A construction truck and trailer overturned in a collision early Tuesday, scattering thousands of bricks across the intersection of Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real in Carlsbad. It took city crews about two hours to scoop up the mess with a Bobcat and haul it away in two dump trucks, a police official said. Morning commuters had to detour onto nearby roads to reach Interstate 5. The collision occurred about 4:50 a.m. ...

ESCONDIDO  The Magical Circle, a uniquely adorned sculpture garden designed by renowned French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, is slowly reopening after months of repairs, and visitors will have their latest chance to walk the storied Circle on Valentine’s Day. Marked by a 400-foot-long “snake wall” and nine free-standing sculptures, the garden opened in October 2003, a year and a half after de Saint Phalle’s death. She had spent the late 1990s living in ...

CARLSBAD  Carlsbad should do more to draw older, wealthier tourists to the city during the off season, according to a new report presented to the City Council on Tuesday. The study conducted by the Strategic Advisory Group found that hotels in Carlsbad are routinely more than 80 percent occupied from April to August, but that occupancy dips down to 60 percent and 50 percent during the rest of the year. City officials hired the ...

CAMP PENDLETON  Camp Pendleton’s Animal Shelter has several dozen dogs and cats ready for adoption or fostering. The number of animals at the shelter varies; the capacity is 28-30 dogs and 7-10 cats. Additional cats are hosted at an adoption center off base. Anyone considering adopting, who already has a pet, should bring their current pet to meet the prospective adopted cat or dog. The shelter also accepting applications for foster homes. Foster animals ...

NORTH COUNTY  Following are results from recent local government meetings: CITY COUNCILS CARLSBAD The Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday approved the appointment of Ulrich Samietz of Park Hyatt Aviara to the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District board and to the Carlsbad Golf Lodging Business Improvement District board; approved a memorandum of understanding with the Carlsbad City Employees Association; and conducted a hearing and approved a permit to demolish a single-family home and construct a ...

NORTH COUNTY  Following are upcoming meeting schedules for local government agencies: CITY COUNCILS CARLSBAD The Carlsbad City Council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Faraday Administration Center, 1635 Faraday Ave. Agenda items include: consider approval of a resolution authorizing $150,000 to be transferred from the council contingency fund to the non-departmental unfunded litigation fund to cover unbudgeted legal expenses for outside counsel; report on the 2015 Carlsbad Industry Tourism Study conducted by Strategic ...

CARLSBAD  An 18-year-old Oceanside man driving a Nissan pickup on north Interstate 5 died after the vehicle overturned several times and struck a light pole early Monday, a California Highway Patrol officer said. The crash happened about 3:10 a.m. north of Leucadia Boulevard, CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt said. The pickup driver was traveling at an unknown speed when he applied the brakes and lost control of the vehicle, Bettencourt said. The pole was knocked ...